Arizona to be first state to require high schoolers to pass civics test

Students must pass the same test given to those seeking U.S. citizenship.

Will Arizona's new American Civics Act, over-test students already burdened with pressure from other government-mandated tests? (Photo: AntonioDiaz/Shutterstock)

An immigrant who wants to become a new citizen of the United States must pass a U.S. Civics test demonstrating his knowledge of American government and history. Now, the same standard will be true for high school students wishing to earn their diploma in the state of Arizona.

Last week, Arizona became the first state to require high schoolers to pass a U.S. civics test to graduate. The state will use the federal immigration test, which includes 100 possible questions. Those seeking citizenship are asked any 10 of the questions and must answer six correctly to pass, whereas Arizona high school students will be asked all 100 and must answer at least 60 correctly to pass. The class of 2017 will be the first whose graduation hinges on the test.

According to The Arizona Republic, "The American Civics Act will require students to pass 60 of the 100 questions on the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization civics test. They can first take the test in eighth grade, and can retake it until they pass."

The test includes questions such as, "Who was the president during World War I?" and "What are the first ten amendments to the Constitution called?"

But while many are praising Arizona lawmakers for ensuring that American kids know their history, others are worried about adding another testing barrier to kids already tested to the limits to meet federal and state education standards.

At least a dozen other states are considering similar laws.

Do you think high school students should be required to pass a U.S. civics test? Do you think you could pass the U.S. citizenship test? (And, yes, we realize some of the answers are below, but remember the honor system.)

Here are the 100 questions that new citizens — and now high school students in Arizona — need to know. Take a look and see how you would do: